Lee Jong-Kyu
General Information Lee Jong-Kyu was a Dranian politician (Grand National Party) and former Minister of Internal Affairs. He was the only member of the cabinet belonging to the Kyo minority. Life and Politics Lee was born in Soyolango in 3198 as the son of a wealthy family. He attended a private school from which he graduated in 3216. Afterwards, he studied economics in Iglesia Mayor and took over his father's company (a supply company) as CEO in 3218. In April 3223, he was elected mayor of his hometown, and was re-elected two times in 3227 and 3231. After resigning from that position, Lee expanded his company and opened new branches in other countries, such as Hulstria and Rildanor. By 3240, he had become one of the most successful businesspersons in the nation. In 3243, he joined the Grand National Party, which was led by Larissa LeCoultre, who Lee had been working with for several when she was a hotel manager. Lee became GNP Spokesman for Infrastructure. In 3246, the GNP won the elections clearly, and he won a seat in Parliament as representative of his home city. On 1 January 3247 he was officially inaugurated as the new Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. As minister, Lee was responsible for the vastest privatization project Dranland had ever seen: All infrastructue, such as railways, highways and power grids were completely sold out to private investors. Together with Hans Kaltenberg, Lee was considered the mastermind behind these projects. Although not very popular in polls (except among members of the Kyo minority), GNP Chairman and new Prime Minister Jack Caddock decided to keep him as minister in the new cabinet sworn in after the elections of 3254. GNP strategists said that this decision was due to the fact that Lee is an important link to the Kyo community, which voted for the GNP in vast margins in the elections of 3254. Lee himself was re-elected for his parliamentary seat with a majority of 56% in his constituency, which is predominately inhabited by Kyo citizens. During his second tenure, he continued the privatization of state-owned infrastructure, and reformed public works by subcontracting with private companies to provide these services. After the elections of 3263, Lee switched ministries and became Minister for Internal Affairs under Prime Minister Luigi Delgado. In this position, he drafted a reform to abolish curfews, which he considers a violation of personal freedom. The bill was subsequently approved by the majority of MPs. Afer launching a last bill to restrict religious influence on Dranland's society, he resigned from politics after finishing his term. He is now back in Soyolango and runs an Institute for research on the history and culture of the Kyo minority in the country. In 3279, Lee made a public appearance within a press conference in which he stated his opposition to the monarchy, Queen Victoria I and heir apparent Nataniel of Drania, during which he also demanded a referendum to decide about whether to maintain or abolish the monarchy. In 3280, Lee scored a political coup by calling for the House of Santiago to leave the throne and hold a referendum to elect a new monarch. Lee said that he favored a person who "truly represents the very core of the original Kyo and Welsh culture of Dranland." With the support of MPs of his party as well as officials from Indrala, Lee also submitted a bill to the Parliament which according measures. The bill also received support from Prime Minister Alina Delarosa. Lee then suggested Jong Won-Hee, a senior Kyo activist and MP of the Parliament of Elbian Province, as GNP candidate for the election. This suggestion was subsequently approved by Chairwoman Marit Jensson and the party's leadership council. After Jong had lost the election, Lee stated that his political goals had failed and announced his permanent resignation from politics. He then bought a cottage in the mountains where he isolatedly lived with his wife until 3300, when he died from a heart attack at age 101. Political Views On economic issues, Lee was an firm capitalist. He believed that the state should neither own any kind of infrastructure, business, industry or media nor provide social security or welfare to its citizens. In exchange, he advocated a minimal income tax of less than 10% and an even lower corporate tax. He has also called for the total abolishment of sales taxes in order to boost consumption. Unlike many GNP representatives, Lee was a social conservative, being opposed to abortion and gay marriage. However, he also stated that he opposed banning any of these and instead called for the regions to decide about these issues. Ethnical background and Controversies As one of the few major politicians on a federal level, Lee was a representing the Kyo minority, which makes up around 19% of Dranlands population. He followed the religious faith of Buddhism and was a strong advocate of Kyo traditions. Lee caused a controversy when he claimed that the federal government had neglected the wishes of the Kyo people for years and accused the Dranian and Christian majority population of "racism and ignorance against ethnical and religious minorities and their culture". He was very popular among the Kyo minority, which helped his party to win their support in large numbers. In the elections of 3250, more than 60% of Kyo voted for the GNP. Lee also had connections to leaders of the Welsh community, which he considered a "disadvantaged and often discriminated minority just like the Kyo". In 3261, Lee stated that he considers the celebrations of Scientology in the Elbian region an "insult to the Welsh-Dranians" (see: Welsh Genocide). Lee also said that Scientology was a "manipulating religion" and that the national holiday to its honour should be abolished. The oppositional PDM criticized Lee's remarks sharply and demanded his resignation. Category:Dranian people Category:Grand National Party (Dranland) politicians